Burglaries in 2015 - Breaking into the Garda figures

Increases in burglaries were reported by more than 40 per cent of all Garda stations last year, despite an overall reduction in the crime nationally.

Crime figures for 2015 show that 238 stations out of a total of 563 across the Republic recorded a rise in burglaries in 2015 against a background of a 5 per cent annual drop in such crimes nationwide. Levels at a further 38 stations were unchanged.

Despite a widespread focus on rural crime rates last year, the highest levels of burglary have consistently been found in Dublin and counties in the capital’s commuter belt.

Fears about dramatic increases in rural crime, particularly burglaries, which became the focus of intense media coverage last summer due to special meetings held by community leaders in many parts of the country, are not proven by the latest official crime figures.

Dublin experienced the highest level of the crime with 9.1 burglaries committed per 1,000 population with a noticeable increase in such crimes across upmarket suburbs on the southside of the city.

Figures show reported burglaries were up over 30 per cent in Shankill and Dundrum and by 20 per cent in Rathfarnham and Cabinteely.

Many TDs in south Dublin have claimed the closure of the Garda station in Stepaside has led to a spike in crime levels in the area.

Jospeha Madigan, a Fine Gael TD for Dublin Rathdown, said a review of the dispersal of stations in urban, suburban and rural areas was one of the top priorities in a discussion document which Fine Gael had prepared for talks with other groups in relation to the formation of a new government.

“Crime affects everyone across the country and the isolation of some rural communities and the vulnerability of persons or families experiencing crime resonates strongly but the statistical fact remains that in the city you are most likely to be a victim of crime,” Ms Madigan said.

Above-average rates for burglary are found exclusively along the eastern side of the country including Louth, Laois, Wexford, Kildare, Carlow, Waterford and Wicklow.

According to figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the lowest rates in 2015 were in Monaghan followed by Donegal, Mayo, Kerry, Cork and Leitrim.

The CSO figures, which are based on crimes recorded on the garda Pulse system, show there was a dramatic rise in burglaries in Cavan last year with levels up over 50 per cent.

Brendan Smith, a Cavan TD and former minister, there was deep concern among local communities about the scale of the increase.

Mr Smith blamed a reduction in the number of gardaí and the closure of Garda stations as well as a lack of resources for rising crime levels, which he partly attributed to criminals with paramilitary links based across the border in Northern Ireland.

“There’s been a huge increase in reports of items like lawnmowers, farm machinery and tools being taken from homes,” Mr Smith said. “In many cases, it looks like criminals are stealing to order.”

Mr Smith called on the government to introduce a network of CCTV cameras on major national routes which are widely believed to be used by criminal gangs.

Welcoming the overall downward trend in burglary figures, Save Our Local Community (SOLC), a group established to campaign for greater resources to tackle rural crime, said it believed its role in highlighting the issue had contributed to the decrease.

Robert O’Shea, the group’s spokesman, acknowledged that crimes figures in Tipperary, where SOLC is centred, had dropped significantly during 2015.

“We believe the publicity we attracted to the crime in the Littleton area certainly gave a warning to both the authorities and villains and it seems the results are beginning to show,” Mr O’Shea said. “The message certainly got home to gardaí and politicians about the depth of our feeling.”

Nevertheless, he warned that there had been little change in the level of fear felt by people living on their own in isolated areas.

“While they maybe know there has been a fall in crime in their area, they are conscious that criminals are still on the prowl,” Mr O’Shea remarked.

SOLC strongly advocate an increase in the visibility of gardai in communities with Mr O’Shea attributing the deployment of a second garda to the station in Littleton in October for the fall in crime in the area.

Preliminary garda figures for early 2016 suggest there has been a marked decrease in burglaries since the start of the year.

Jack Nolan, assistant garda commissioner, has confirmed that there was a 37 per cent drop in the crime in the capital during the first two months of 2016.

He claimed the decrease was greater than might be expected due to seasonal trends and attributed the results to the success of Operation Thor which has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests for burglary-related offences since its introduction last autumn.

A Garda source said: “It’s a case that many of these burglars are now aware they are being targeted and that has led to them to cease or reduce a lot of their usual activities.”

Commenting on the latest CSO figures, Frances Fitzgerald, the justice minister, expressed satisfaction that targeted garda operations combined with the recruitment of 1,150 extra gardaí and the introduction of tougher sentencing for repeat offenders would continue to impact on crime levels.
In the final table, we look at where burglaries have been rising and falling during 2015 with red areas indicating a greater number of such crimes were reported last year compared to 2014. Green areas denote a fall in the number of burglaries while white areas signal no change